General Foreman Maintenance/Refractory

Job Description

Job Description

Location: Dunkirk, NY

Department: Maintenance / Operations

Position Overview

The General Foreman – Maintenance/Refractory is responsible for the safe, reliable, and cost-effective execution of maintenance and refractory activities across the Dunkirk facility. This position balances front-line leadership, technical oversight, work planning, and administrative responsibilities to ensure equipment reliability, refractory integrity, regulatory compliance, effective labor/contractor utilization, and seamless coordination with plant operations.

Key ResponsibilitiesSafety & Leadership

• Safety First: Prioritize safety in all maintenance/refractory work. Enforce compliance with company rules, PPE, and Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) requirements. Stop work immediately when unsafe conditions arise.

• Field Execution: Lead pre-job planning, Job Hazard Analyses (JHA), toolbox discussions, and field verifications. Reinforce standards for LOTO, confined space, hot work, fall protection, rigging, and mobile equipment.

• Department Support: Assist and fill in for the Maintenance Manager. Aid in resource allocation, outage planning, contractor coordination, cost control, and strategy execution.

• Team Accountability: Direct, delegate, and follow up with supervisors, skilled trades, refractory crews, and contractors. Promptly address performance or execution issues and hold individuals accountable to standards.

Maintenance & Refractory Operations

• Execution & Reliability: Plan, coordinate, and monitor corrective, preventive, and predictive maintenance. Drive root-cause problem solving for repeat failures to maximize equipment availability and reduce downtime.

• Refractory Oversight: Plan and inspect refractory demolition, repair, installation, dry-out, and commissioning for furnaces and refractory-lined equipment according to specifications.

• Technical Quality: Verify work complies with drawings, OEM requirements, and industrial standards. Maintain accurate work and inspection records.

• Workforce & Contractors: Manage schedules, daily assignments, and contractor activities for plant priorities, planned outages, and emergency repairs.

Administration & Continuous Improvement

• Planning & Materials: Coordinate parts, tools, consumables, and refractory materials prior to scheduled work. Identify critical spares and material risks.

• CMMS & Documentation: Ensure work orders, labor, parts usage, findings, and failure data are accurately logged in the plant CMMS (Maximo preferred). Manage backlogs and preventive maintenance compliance.

• Cost & Productivity: Control costs through efficient labor planning, elimination of non-value-added tasks, and reduction of unplanned downtime.

• Continuous Improvement: Drive 5S, workplace organization, and a culture of urgency, ownership, and attention to detail.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with Operations, Engineering, Safety, Quality, and Purchasing to safely schedule work and execute plant projects.

• Emergency Response: Provide leadership and technical guidance during unexpected equipment breakdowns or refractory emergencies.

Technical Skills & Knowledge

• Mechanical Systems: Industrial maintenance expertise (bearings, gearboxes, couplings, pumps, hydraulics, pneumatics, lubrication) and root-cause troubleshooting.

• Electrical/Controls: Practical working knowledge of motors, VFDs, sensors, PLCs, and power distribution to effectively coordinate with electrical personnel.

• Refractory Systems: Deep knowledge of brick, castables, gunning/shotcrete, ramming materials, mortars, anchors, insulation, and dry-out/heat-up procedures. Ability to diagnose failure modes (spalling, cracking, erosion, thermal attack).

• Fabrication & Rigging: Knowledge of welding, machining, alignment, safe lifting/rigging, and crane operations.

• Documentation & Tools: Ability to read/interpret mechanical and refractory drawings, manuals, and specifications. Proficiency with CMMS platforms, maintenance KPI tracking, and outage sequencing.

Qualifications & Experience

• Experience:

  • Minimum 5 years of industrial maintenance experience in metals, steel, foundry, furnace, or heavy manufacturing (primary steelmaking or specialty metals preferred).

  • Minimum 3 years leading skilled trades, hourly employees, supervisors, or contractors.

  • Hands-on experience with furnace/refractory maintenance, installation, and repair.

  • Proven track record planning and executing major shutdowns, outages, and contractor work.

  • Experience with CMMS systems (Maximo preferred) and 5S/continuous improvement leadership.

• Education: Technical degree, skilled-trades apprenticeship, journeyman background, or equivalent combination of industrial experience and training preferred.

• Soft Skills: Excellent front-line leadership, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and multi-tasking abilities in a fast-paced environment.

Physical & Environmental Requirements

• Move safely throughout a heavy industrial plant for extended periods (navigating stairs, platforms, and uneven surfaces).

• Work around active machinery, heat, noise, dust, and in confined or elevated spaces (with proper authorization and PPE).

• Respond to urgent maintenance/refractory issues outside normal working hours as business needs dictate.